


In All Senses of the Word

by surlybobbies



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Christmas, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Holidays, M/M, New Year's Eve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-28 23:34:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17192318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/surlybobbies/pseuds/surlybobbies
Summary: “Jackass,” Dean said, though the twitch of his mouth gave his affection away.  “What if I died tonight and you never wished me a Merry Christmas?”“Of all the things to regret not saying, ‘Merry Christmas’ is hardly on my list, Dean.”Dean raised an eyebrow.  “Oh, yeah?  What would you regret not saying, then?”Cas looked at Dean’s face - at the arch of his brow and the faded freckles across his nose.  And he thought about saying it.  Cas had thought about saying it for months now.  But he looked down at his shoes and smiled instead.  “I’d regret not asking you for your apple pie recipe.”





	In All Senses of the Word

**Author's Note:**

  * For [exceptcas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/exceptcas/gifts).



> Written for the Profound Bond Gift Exchange: Winter Wonderland! exceptcas was the person I was matched with - I hope you like it!!

Cas heard the slam of the Impala’s door outside before he even got off the phone with Dean.

“Here already?” he asked, wiping his hands on a dish towel. “You need to stop using your phone while driving.”

“Would it make you feel better if I told you Sam was holding the phone?”

Cas opened the front door. A few yards away, Dean was leaning against his car, one hand holding the phone to his ear, the other thrust into his jeans pocket. “No,” Cas said, “because I know that’s a lie.”

Dean grinned and dropped the call. “Hey, dude,” he said, once Cas got close enough. “Merry Christmas.”

“It’s not for another - “

“Yeah, okay, whatever - what is it now, 4819 minutes?”

“More or less.”

Dean rolled his eyes. “I won’t be here to wish you a Merry Christmas, so just take it, dude. You been counting the minutes down to everyone?”

Cas smiled. He didn’t answer. He bent to see why Sam had stayed in the car.

Sam was holding his phone up to his ear, but when he saw Cas, he placed a hand over the mouthpiece. “Hey, Cas, Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas, Sam. Make sure Dean drives safely.”

“You got it, dude. Take care while we’re gone, alright?”

When Cas straightened, Dean was giving him a sour look. “You haven’t wished _me_ a Merry Christmas.”

“Call me on Christmas,” Cas said mildly. “We’ll see how I feel then.”

“Jackass,” Dean said, though the twitch of his mouth gave his affection away. “What if I died tonight and you never wished me a Merry Christmas?”

“Of all the things to regret not saying, ‘Merry Christmas’ is hardly on my list, Dean.”

Dean raised an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah? What would you regret not saying, then?”

Cas looked at Dean’s face - at the arch of his brow and the faded freckles across his nose. And he thought about saying it. Cas had thought about saying it for months now. But he looked down at his shoes and smiled instead. “I’d regret not asking you for your apple pie recipe.”

Dean rolled his eyes. “Yeah, not happening.” He opened his car door. “Stay safe for me, alright, bud?”

Cas pretended to think. “For you? I’ll think about it.”

Dean had been in the middle of getting into the car. He stopped suddenly, though, to send a stern look at Cas. “Seriously, Cas. You get pneumonia again, I’m kicking your ass.”

Cas had to keep himself from sighing. He’d gotten a mild case of pneumonia last year and had spent a total of 8 hours in the hospital as a precaution. He’d barely missed work, and he rarely spared a thought for it. Dean, however, rarely let a month pass without a snippy remark about it. 

“I’ll be fine, Dean,” he murmured. “Go - Mary’s waiting for you.”

Dean didn’t move. He was watching Cas with narrowed eyes. Cas saw Sam in the car running a hand over his face. 

“You sure you don’t want to come?” Dean asked, brow furrowed. “You know Mom wouldn’t mind.”

Cas thought about it for what was probably the 70th time in two days. He knew Mary wouldn’t mind; on the contrary, she’d probably be doubly happy to see all three of “her boys” in her home. But Cas couldn’t do it. He couldn’t sit next to Dean at Christmas dinner and drink eggnog with Dean and exchange presents with Dean in Dean’s family home. He couldn’t do all that and come away unscathed. Lately even just _seeing_ Dean made Cas’s heart ache. 

He touched Dean’s shoulder, gave a little push to get him settled into the car. “Go,” he said again. “Let me know when you get there.” He bent down further to speak to Sam. “You’ll make sure he doesn’t drive when he’s tired?”

“Oh, my god,” Dean said. “We’re going. See ya, Cas.”

“Will do, Cas!” Sam called as Dean pulled away. “Talk later!”

 

 

Dean called about a day later, sounding exhausted. “It’s been so long since I’ve been home for the holidays. Forgot how crazy things got. I swear there’s 50 people downstairs. Oh, _and_ I’ve got to share a bed with Sam. Not gonna get any sleep with Sasquatch in the room.”

“Guess it’s better I didn’t end up coming with,” Cas said, and he hated that he sounded a little sad. He’d been thinking about it even more since Dean had driven away, and now that Dean was there and Cas was definitely _not,_ he found that his imagination had gotten all the more torturous. If he’d gone with Dean, it would have been so easy to find a quiet corner and talk, to soak up the atmosphere, to laugh softly at drunk relatives and brush elbows and - 

“Still wish you were here, though,” Dean said, a little muffled, like he had face-planted into a pillow.

“I appreciate that, Dean,” Cas said softly. He cleared his throat. “Go to bed.”

Dean mumbled something unintelligible.

“Good night to you, too, Dean.”

“Yeah, call you la’er.”

 

 

Christmas Eve was quiet for Cas. He spent the morning sorting through mail and thinking about Dean. The afternoon was also spent thinking about Dean, though this time with a glass or three of scotch whiskey Dean had left behind from Thanksgiving. 

By the time evening rolled around, and the TV was running Christmas specials in the background and Cas was on his couch staring at the ceiling thinking about Dean, he was more tipsy than he’d been in years.

His phone rang. He answered it even though he knew he shouldn’t, but it was Dean’s name on the screen and Cas had never ignored Dean’s calls.

“It’s Christmas!” Dean said as soon as Cas picked up. “You gonna wish me Merry Christmas?”

Cas laughed. He’d missed Dean’s voice. “There’s still a few more hours, Dean.”

“For crying out - seriously?”

“I’ll wish you a Merry Christmas Eve,e if you want it.”

“If this is just your ploy to get me to call you tomorrow, well, you’re wasting your time because I was already gonna call you.”

Cas was already warm with his sweater and three portions of scotch whiskey, but Dean’s words warmed him in a different way. “You are the greatest friend I’ve ever had, Dean.”

There was a long pause. “Thanks, I guess,” Dean replied quietly. “A ‘Merry Christmas’ would have done, though.”

“I’m serious,” Cas said. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

In the background of the call, Cas heard raucous laughter. He became very suddenly melancholy. He bit down on a sigh. Dean’s voice was closer now, like he was cupping his hand against his mouth. “You - uh. You been drinking, bud?”

“You left your scotch whiskey here.” Cas stared at the glass on the table. Behind it, _A Charlie Brown Christmas_ was playing on the TV. “You should come get it.” All Cas wanted was Dean next to him, and it didn’t seem fair that he wasn’t.

“Wh - now?”

“No, next Christmas.” Cas laughed at his own joke. “Yes, _now._ You should come get it now.”

“I don’t know if you remember, Cas, but uh - I’m a few states away.”

Cas rolled his eyes. “I’m tipsy, not senile. It was a joke.”

“Oh.”

There was another round of laughter in the background. “I miss you,” Cas said, tilting his head back onto the arm of his couch and staring the ceiling fan, immobile. “I didn’t think I’d miss you so much.”

“Jeez, Cas,” Dean said. “You’re making me feel like shit for leaving you.”

“I’m sorry,” Cas said quickly. “That wasn’t my intention.” He closed his eyes. “If it makes you feel any better, I think I’d miss you even if you were here.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Cas sighed. He could still feel the burn of the whiskey in his throat. “It doesn’t matter. Have fun. Say hello to everyone for me.”

“Cas, will you be alri - “

“Merry Christmas, Dean.”

“...Merry Christmas, Cas.”

 

 

Dean called the next day like he said he would. Cas was still in bed. 

“Nursing a hangover or what, bud?” Dean asked. He sounded tired but happy.

“No,” Cas said. “But I am still in bed.”

“Jesus. What time is it over there? Cas, it’s 1pm. Get out of bed.”

“Of all the days I should be able to sleep in, it’s Christmas day,” Cas said stubbornly.

“1pm isn’t sleeping in, dude. That’s like. That’s - I mean, what, are you gonna just - _lie_ there?”

“It’s cold.”

“I shouldn’t have left.”

Cas rolled his eyes. “I’m sleeping in, Dean; it’s not the end of the world.”

“I know, I know. It’s just - I mean, last night you were drunk off your ass - “

“ _Drunk off my ass_ is hardly the right way to - “

“And today you’re just - I mean, seriously, you’re kinda worrying me.”

Cas had to laugh. “One night where I get _slightly_ tipsy and a day where I sleep in past noon is not going to kill me.” 

“The way you were talking last night, though - “

Cas closed his eyes, embarrassed. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said so much.”

“You sounded sad.”

“Holidays get lonely sometimes,” Cas said honestly. “Not a big deal. There are people worse off. I still have people in my life who care about me.”

“Yeah, one of them’s me, and I ditched you for Christmas.”

“I as good as told you to ditch me. Please don’t blame yourself just because my tipsy self couldn’t keep his mouth shut.”

There was a long silence. Cas was content to let it fall around him, to soak in Dean’s presence even if Dean wasn’t actually there in the apartment. Then Dean opened his mouth and said very quietly, “For the record, I miss you too.”

Cas squeezed his eyes shut and pulled the covers over his head. He didn’t bother answering.

“We’ll be back after New Year’s. Don’t know when exactly. You - you can still join us, you know. Grab a one-way ticket, hitch a ride back with me and Sam.”

“I don’t have the vacation time.”

“So what? You hate that job anyway. Find a new one.”

Cas wanted so badly to see Dean. It had been barely four days, but already Cas was suffering withdrawals. “That’s a nice thought. Maybe next year.” He sighed. “Take care, Dean. Call me if you need me. Merry Christmas.”

 

 

The temperature dropped on New Year’s Eve. In the evening, Cas wrapped himself up in blankets and brought the bottle of scotch whiskey with him to the couch (his bed seemed larger - not to mention colder - than usual lately.) He brought his phone with him and set it next to him in case Dean called. He hadn’t heard from Dean since two days before, when Dean had grumbled about Mary’s long to-do list for him and Sam. “It’s five years’ worth of repairs, and she wants it done in two weeks, Cas,” he’d sighed, right before bed. “I was supposed to be on vacation.”

“Stop complaining,” Cas had chided. “You like when your mom asks you to do things for her.”

Dean had stayed silent, probably sulking.

Cas had pictured Dean in a queen-sized bed, bundled beneath blankets, pouting into the pillow with Sam hogging most of the mattress He hadn’t been able to keep the smile from his voice when he said, “Good night, Dean.”

He’d been surprised to hear a smile in Dean’s voice too. “G’night, Cas.”

But that had been two days before, and Dean hadn’t called or messaged him since. He was beginning to feel a little abandoned, though logic protested that Dean was probably being kept busy by Mary’s list of chores.

Cas looked at the clock. It was edging up to 10pm. Surely, he thought, Mary wouldn’t keep them working so late on a holiday? He stared at his phone. Maybe he could call Dean.

Or would that be too much? Maybe Dean hadn’t called because he was feeling cramped. Maybe he needed space from Cas? The thought had Cas cringing away from his phone.

He stared unseeing at the television, where the program leading up to the ball drop was in full swing. Couples waved at the camera. Cas imagined the look of disgust on Dean’s face at the thought of all the glitter. His heart ached.

He picked up the phone and dialed Sam. Just to see how he was doing, of course. Not also to see what was keeping Dean from him.

“Cas!” Sam sounded happy. “Dude, I haven’t heard from you in ages! Dean’s been keeping you from me, huh?”

“Sorry,” Cas said. “I should have called you earlier.”

“Don’t worry about it, dude,” Sam said easily. Somewhere in the background, people cheered. Sam’s voice was laced with a grin. “Happy New Year, by the way.”

“Happy New Year, Sam.” With a sad little jolt, Cas realized he missed Sam too. He wasn’t as close to him as he was to Dean, but Sam had always been kind and warm and welcoming. “I hope you’re all doing well.”

“Thanks,” Sam said. “By the way, tell Dean he’s going to pay for taking the apple pie.”

Cas blinked. That was a strange sentence. “Why don’t you tell him yourself?”

“He forgot his phone.”

“What do you mean he forgot - “ 

Someone knocked on Cas’s door.

Cas stood up automatically. He was caught between two sources of confusion. “I don’t - sorry, Sam, someone’s at the - “ 

He looked through the peephole and felt his stomach flip.

“Sam,” he said, a little unsteadily, his grip on the doorknob very tight.

“You okay over there, dude?”

“Why is Dean standing on my doorstep?”

Sam’s grin was easily heard in his voice. “He only just got there?”

“I don’t understand - “

“Have you let him in yet?”

“No, but - “

“Dude, let him in!”

“I don’t know if I can - “

Sam’s voice was comforting. “Listen, Cas, I’m gonna hang up, then you’re going to let my brother into your apartment and you’re going to celebrate the new year together. What that means, I’ve got no idea, but he’s been antsy without you and he’s probably freaking out that it’s taking you so long to open the door.”

“Al - alright.”

“Happy New Year, Cas.”

Cas took a deep breath. “Happy New Year.”

Sam chuckled a little bit. “See ya.” He hung up.

Hanging up was the easy part. Cas looked through the peephole again. Dean was still standing there, stomping his feet. He didn’t have any bags with him. All he held was a...pie.

With a deep, calming breath, Cas opened the door. 

Dean’s mouth dropped open. He seemed to struggle for something to say. “Hey - uh, what - what’s up?”

“What are you...doing here?” Cas couldn’t quite believe that Dean was standing in front of him. 

“I’m freezing my balls off is what I’m doing right now,” Dean said, laughing nervously. “Can I - I mean, I know you weren’t expecting company, but - uh, listen, I kinda forgot my apartment keys in Lawrence… and my phone… and my clothes… and pretty much everything else. So unless you’re turning me away, you’re kinda stuck with me.”

Numbly, Cas stood back from the doorway to let Dean in. He couldn’t remember how to form words for a while. “You - why - you’re - you drove here without your phone?”

Dean ran a hand over his mouth once Cas closed the door and looked at him. “Yeah. Got turned around a few times, so that’s why it took so long.”

“When did you leave Lawrence?”

Dean winced. “36 hours ago?”

Cas’s bewilderment morphed easily into shock. “Dean Winchester, you drove for 36 hours straight?”

“No,” Dean said, holding up his hands. “Relax. I stopped for a little bit. Got a few hours of shut-eye. Asked for directions.” The last part he said with a pained smile.

Cas covered his face with both of his hands. “What possessed you to leave?” he asked. He felt warm. He felt frustrated. He felt confused. But mostly he couldn’t bear to look at Dean with the amount of gratitude welling up in his chest.

Dean sighed. “I took the pie out of Mom’s oven and then I remembered - it reminded me of you. And I just - I said bye to Mom and took off.”

“For fuck’s sake, Dean.”

“Sam’ll find his own way home; he hated the drive there anyway.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Cas said weakly. He looked at the door, then at Dean, still absurdly holding the pie. “You should be spending time with your family.”

Dean licked his lips. “Why do you think I’m here, Cas?”

Cas closed his eyes. He felt his face heat. He couldn’t find anything to say in reply. “I - I don’t have anything prepared.”

Dean shrugged. “There’s pie.”

“It’s been in a car for 36 hours.”

“So what? You’ve got an oven. We can warm it through.”

Cas laughed; it sounded a little manic even to his own ears. “Go ahead,” he said. “Join me on the couch when you’re through.”

He stole away for a few minutes into his bathroom. He splashed his face with water just to wake himself up, to try to prove to himself that this wasn’t a dream, that Dean had _actually_ driven a day and a half to get to him, to Cas, to Cas’s home, just in time for the new year.

He didn’t know what this meant, but he was willing to bet that very few people would leave their families on a whim just to see their best friend 1500 miles away. He’d never let himself believe that Dean might return his feelings - not because there weren’t signs, but because it was simply too good to be true. To love Dean and to be loved back by Dean? Cas’s life couldn’t possibly be so good.

But then he walked out and saw Dean flipping through channels while lounging on his couch and he thought, for the first time, _but what if my life could be this good?_

Dean heard his footsteps and turned to smile at him. “Happy New Year, by the way.”

“You’re crazy,” Cas simply replied. He was trying to shake off the shock, but the portion of scotch whiskey he’d had was making it difficult. 

Dean shrugged and slung an arm over the back of couch. “I missed you,” he said simply. “So I came back. Sit down, dude, you’re making me nervous.”

“I missed you too,” Cas said, once he’d sat down. “But I wasn’t going to drive to Kansas to see you.”

Dean had settled on an old western, but he wasn’t paying the television any attention. He was looking at Cas instead with a downward tilt to his lips. “I just - I felt bad for leaving you alone on Christmas, Cas. I shouldn’t have left.”

“We can’t be together 24/7,” Cas said quietly. “Your family needed you.”

Dean didn’t reply. His brows were slightly furrowed. As Cas watched, he saw Dean’s throat bob. 

“It’s not that I’m not glad you’re here,” Cas continued. “I’m grateful. And I missed you. But…” _But you can’t keep spoiling me like this. I can’t have you forever._

With a sigh, Dean leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, reaching for Cas’s glass on the table in front of them. He drained it easily, then ran his hands through his hair.

Cas watched the tremble of Dean’s eyelids, admired the strong mechanic’s hands, tried not to imagine how they might feel in his own hair instead.

“Look, Cas,” Dean said quietly. “I - I missed you. I’ve said that. And you missed me.”

Cas could agree to all of those statements. “Yes,” he said, a little slowly, confused.

Dean covered his eyes with a hand. The rest of his face was pink. “And I - I mean, we could - I mean, in the future, it’d be so easy to - to _not_ miss each other.”

“I don’t understand.”

Dean got up very suddenly from the couch and started pacing. “I just mean instead of me leaving and you staying or the other way around or something - we could just _not._ We could just - we could just not be apart.”

“T-together,” Cas said.

Dean stopped pacing. He looked at Cas with eyes that bordered on panicked and took a deep breath. “That’s - that’s a word.”

The word _together_ had a lot of meanings, and Cas couldn’t believe that Dean was thinking of the same meaning that he was. “Together in what sense of the word?” he asked.

Dean closed his eyes. His hands were fists at his sides. “With the way this conversation’s going, I’d be glad with whatever ‘sense of the word’ you want, dude.” 

Cas couldn’t believe his ears. “Please,” he said. “I don’t want to assume anything - “

“Assume,” Dean said immediately. “Just - assume as much as you want.”

Cas couldn’t say it out loud. He could barely think it. The implications were overwhelming. He took a deep breath. And like Dean wanted him to, he assumed. “Will you sit down, at least?”

Dean’s jaw clenched, but he sat down. “I’m being stupid,” he said, looking at his hands, open in front of him.

“You’re being brave,” Cas corrected, “which is more than I can say for myself.”

Dean chanced a look at him. His mouth twitched. “Brave and stupid are the same thing.”

Cas nudged Dean’s knee with his own. There was something in his throat that was making words difficult. Softly, he managed to say, “Not if your bravery is rewarded.”

Dean stared at the point of contact between their knees. Cas saw his throat bob, then he saw Dean’s hand move ever so slowly to rest, palm up, on Cas’s knee. It was an invitation if Cas ever saw it. It was Dean being brave. He put his hand in Dean’s.

He felt the tension leave Dean’s body. He heard it too, in the sigh that Dean released. Dean ran his other hand over his face. “Wow,” he said.

Cas let him have his moment of disbelief, mostly because he was busy having his own. He’d scarcely allowed himself to dream of this, not even this simple thing, holding hands with Dean Winchester on his secondhand couch. And now it was happening. He squeezed Dean’s hand. 

Dean tilted his head back to stare the ceiling. He was smiling. 

Cas couldn’t keep from smiling either. “Your apple pie smells wonderful, by the way,” he said softly.

Dean turned to look at him. “Yeah?” he asked, eyes affectionate, voice low. “I’ll go grab it.”

“I’d love that,” Cas said. 

Dean detangled his hand from Cas’ and stood up, but not before touching two fingers to Cas’s cheek. “Be right back,” he said, then grinned before walking away.

“Alright,” Cas said. He felt like he was floating. He didn’t know if he could stop smiling.

“Can I borrow your phone, by the way?” Dean asked, as he shoved on Cas’s baking mittens. “I should call Sam and let him know I got here.”

Cas had turned to watch Dean - because he could now. “He knows. I was on the phone with him when you knocked.”

“Really?” Dean asked. “He called you?”

“I called him. You hadn’t called, so I… wanted to know what was going on.”

“You didn’t call my phone?” He handled the pie carefully and set it on a trivet on Cas’s countertop.

“I thought I might have been bothering you,” Cas said honestly. Now that he knew that wasn’t the case, he didn’t bother hiding it. 

Dean laughed as he searched for a knife. “I drove here from Lawrence, Kansas - if anything, I’m bothering _you._ ”

Cas sighed. “Never,” he said affectionately.

“Sap,” Dean accused, but his cheeks were wonderfully pink. “Anyway, I should still call and wish them a happy new year.”

Cas hauled himself up from the couch and gladly joined Dean in his kitchen as Dean slid a large portion of pie onto a saucer. Cas handed his phone to Dean. “Tell them hi,” he said, then took a fork from his drawer. 

Dean scowled. “You get pie and suddenly I don’t exist?”

“Shouldn’t have brought the pie then,” Cas said, smiling. He put his first forkful into his mouth, watching Dean all the while.

“You’re lucky it’s too cold to be irritated,” Dean grumbled, even as he stepped in a little closer. His elbow brushed Cas’s as he dialed Sam.

Cas enjoyed the warmth of the pie and of Dean in his kitchen while Dean spoke.

“Happy new year to you too,” Dean said. “Sorry I ditched.”

Cas couldn’t quite hear Sam’s reply, but he could infer it by Dean’s next words. “Yeah, you’re right, I’m really not. Least I don’t have to listen to you snore now. And Cas is better company anyhow.”

Dean’s hand snuck around to rest on Cas’s lower back. Cas couldn’t keep the grin off his face.

“What? Fuck you, that’s none of your business.” Dean’s face was pink again. “You’ll find out when you get back, alright? Jesus. Oh, shut up, leave Mom out of this.” 

Cas admired the way Dean looked in the glow from the Christmas lights blinking outside. He touched Dean’s hair, admiring the way Dean’s eyelids fluttered in response. Meanwhile, Mary had apparently gotten on the line because Dean was wincing.

“Mom? Hey, Mom… yeah, no, I’m great. Cas is - Cas is great too.”

Cas waved. 

“He says hi.” 

A long silence on Dean’s end followed. “Mom, we’re -” He sent Cas an apologetic look. “We’re figuring it out, alright? It just happened - “ He sighed. “Yeah, alright. Yes. Yes, ma’am. Uhuh. Love you too. Happy new year.”

He ended the call and sighed. “She’s pissed.”

“Because you left?”

Dean put a hand over his face. “Because she hasn’t met you yet.”

Cas put his fork down. “I’ve met her half a dozen times.”

Dean hadn’t uncovered his face. His reply was muffled and embarrassed. “Not as my - whatever.”

Cas laughed. “It literally just happened ten minutes ago,” Cas said. “I barely believe it myself.”

“Try telling her that,” Dean grumbled. “She wants us back in Lawrence for my birthday so you can prove to her you’re not gonna try any funny business with me.”

Cas frowned. “Is that a joke?”

Dean smiled. “Probably not, honestly.” He motioned to the pie. “How was it?”

“Fantastic,” Cas said honestly. “The door-to-door delivery was special, too.”

Dean pushed the pie away from the edge of the counter and stepped in a little closer, making Cas’s stomach flip. “Am I just your delivery boy, then?” he teased.

“Yes,” Cas said simply. “Thanks for the pie. You can go now.”

“Jackass,” Dean said, grinning. “Throwing me out into the cold on new year’s eve.”

Cas reached up to touch Dean’s face. “It’s your own fault you forgot your key.”

Dean’s hands came up to Cas’s ribs. They were gentle, tentative. “Maybe I did it on purpose.”

“Had a lot of confidence in your persuasion skills, did you?”

“It worked, didn’t it?” Dean said. He was leaning in. 

Cas could hardly breathe. “I didn’t need much persuading, to be fair,” he murmured.

Dean kissed him. It was tentative, barely anything, but Cas came away from it dizzy all the same. 

“Happy new year,” Dean said lowly. He was smiling.

Cas’s eyes slid to the clock. “It’s not quite -”

“Shut up,” Dean said. He leaned in again.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, that ended up much longer than I intended. 
> 
> Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone!


End file.
